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Meanwhile, back at THE RANCH

D.P. Van Buskirk a cowboy before being sheriff of Fremont County

By KAREN LUNGU Special to the Daily Record

Posted:
03/13/2013 08:08:23 PM MDT

From September 1913, D.P. Van Buskirk and ranchers gather for a meal. Van Buskirk's ranching experience began even earlier in the 1900s, when he was a cowhand on the IM ranch, along Badger Creek about eight miles as the crow flies, west of Black Mountain outside of South Park. (Courtesy of Royal Gorge Museum and History Center)

M oseying after the larger-than-life pathfinders and frontiersmen of the Old West, along the vein of John C. Fremont, Kit Carson and Tom Tate Tobin, criss-crossing through Colorado, were even more colorful characters than the likes of Whiskers, Whiskey Jones and Uncle Dick Wooten.

Along their way, they sharpened their legends as trappers and trailblazers before the resolute ranchers finally galloped into the tame wild west.

Before D.P. Van Buskirk was voted in as sheriff of Fremont County, he was a dyed-in-the-wool cowboy. Clawing leather and chewing gravel since he was knee high, Van Buskirk was long handy with the catgut when he bought the Paul Huntley Ranch, about eight miles north of Cañon City on the western edge of the Hogbacks in 1917.

Van Buskirk's ranching experience began even earlier in the 1900s, when he was a cowhand on the IM ranch, along Badger Creek about eight miles as the crow flies, west of Black Mountain outside of South Park. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of cattle were run from the IM ranch. Springtime on the ranch was the busiest of the year, when the chuckwagon with cook, horse wrangler and cowboys brought in the cattle that had drifted to the lower country.

Van Burkirk also had a ranch at the head of Currant Creek, 23 miles outside of Cañon City. He was in cahoots with fellow rancher and friend Huntley, when the two shook on a partnership that included about 500 head of cattle in 1922. At the time, Huntley said, "We both owed more money on our cattle than they were worth.

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Dud had about 400 head, and I had 100."

The two dissolved the partnership with nary a hard feeling between them in 1943, and Van Burkirk ran the ranch for another two years before selling to Nate and Dave Patton.

In 1945, an angry thunderstorm fetched a deluge through the area and Wilson Creek overran the farmhouse and land.

In the late 1930s, a small group of the wranglers formed the "Rinky Dinks," a group that enjoyed tasty vittles at a cabin northwest of Cañon City on the Nate Patton Ranch, a part of Shaw Park.

As Rinky Dinks, Warden Roy Best, along with Sheriff Van Buskirk, were active supporters of the Fremont County Game and Fish Association, the Rodeo Association and the cattle industry. They devoted their organization to good living and often invited friends and neighbors to their get-togethers. The Rinky Dinks continued to meet through the 1940s but discontinued later that decade.

Van Buskirk also was credited with initiating the Old Timers' parade and was a founder of the Royal Gorge Roundup in the late 1930s.

A June 23, 1939, Cañon City Daily Record article stated, "He persuaded nearby ranchers to bring in their cowboy outfits. He was one of the prime movers in starting the rodeo as an addition to the celebration."

The heyday of the abundant and sprawling ranches of the early west may have ridden off into the sunset, but the independent spirit and legacy of Cañon City ranchers abounds.